Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 30.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,977 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $29,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 108.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 48 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of Equinix stock opened at $921.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.72, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $926.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $906.92. Equinix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $684.14 and a 52 week high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $5.17. Equinix had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 6.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $4.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 219.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Equinix from $995.00 to $1,080.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Equinix to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $1,200.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $995.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,370 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $909.51, for a total transaction of $1,246,028.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,329 shares in the company, valued at $3,937,268.79. The trade was a 24.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $903.72, for a total transaction of $308,168.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,319.60. This trade represents a 19.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,054 shares of company stock worth $17,466,950. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Company Profile

Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.